Farmers' perceptions of yield losses due to insect pests and methods for assessment in pearl millet

Abstract

On-farm surveys conducted to establish a better understanding of millet farmers' perceptions on crop loss and methods for assessment indicated that farmers were aware of the benefits to be derived from crop loss assessment. Findings from these surveys also showed that on average 82.6% viewed crop loss assessment as important versus 17.4% who viewed loss assessment as unimportant. Among sample farmers, an average 85.3% assessed crop loss qualitatively versus 14.7% quantitatively. Visual assessment of damage was most preferred, followed by insect numbers as a means for assessing crop losses. On average, 50.6% versus 40.9% of sample farmers across village farms attributed crop losses primarily to the pest damage, then insect numbers, respectively. Implications of these findings and applications in pearl millet pest management are discussed.